Taoiseach urges former ministers to reveal information on Anglo deal

Enda Kenny has condemned a “toxic nexus” linking the last Government and bailed-out bankers as he tried to make the Anglo scandal stick to Fianna Fáil.

Ratcheting up his war of words against the main opposition party, Mr Kenny urged former ministers to “stand by the Republic” and declare what they know about the secretive €30bn Anglo guarantee deal.

Fianna Fáil hit back, accusing the Taoiseach of trying to divert attention from the economy slipping back into recession by planning “political show trials”.

The party’s justice spokesman Niall Collins also demanded the extradition of former Anglo chief David Drumm from the US if he refuses to return to Ireland to answer questions.

The furious political row erupted as the Taoiseach warned that the fallout from the Anglo tapes affair had damaged Ireland’s reputation at a key time, and said he agreed with German chancellor Angela Merkel who warned it was “damaging for democracy”.

Mr Kenny said he was setting up a public enquiry into the “toxic nexus point between government, senior personnel in the banks that led to this sad saga”, so that “those with information and knowledge of the facts can come forth and tell the truth of what they know”.

Emphasising the global impact of the Anglo tapes, Ms Merkel said the revelations were “impossible to stomach”.

“I have nothing but contempt for this. The tone seems to be similar across all banks. It is a real damage to democracy,” she said. “It is for us a huge challenge to convince people who get up every day and every day do their work and always pay their taxes, do everything, even show solidarity with other people who are weaker. All of this is destroyed by that and so I have nothing but contempt for that.”

Mr Kenny again expressed concern no records of the Anglo deal were kept. “It was the single biggest financial transaction ever made in the history of our State and there are no papers of any consequence relevant to that in the Department of the Taoiseach,” he said after the EU summit in Brussels.

Mr Kenny said he was determined to get to the truth over Anglo.